ATHENS, Ga. — Dalton Knecht brought the ball up just right of mid-court. He took one dribble to the left into the screening Jonas Aidoo, crossed over as Georgia switched the ball screen took one dribble with his right hand and a hop step to create just enough space to get his shot up over the 6-foot-9 Jalen DeLoach.
To quote Tennessee radio color commentator Bert Bertelkamp: “Money!”
After trailing 75-64 just 4:28 prior, Knecht’s triple gave Tennessee an 81-79 lead. After leading by 14 points in the first half and trailing by 11 points with just over six minutes left, Knecht’s triple sparked a 7-0 run to end the game and give the Vols an 85-79 victory over Georgia.
“It was an incredible, hard-fought college basketball game,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said postgame.
Incredible is the right word to describe what Dalton Knecht did in 33 minutes of action against the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. Knecht scored from deep— including his first two makes of the night— he scored in the midrange and he scored at the basket in transition and in the half court.
All Knecht did was score, going for a game-high 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and five-of-eight shooting from three-point range.
The 36-point performance comes a game after his 26 second half points sparked a 13-point comeback bid that came up just short at Mississippi State.
“Just go downhill and make the right play,” Knecht said of his mindset postgame. “Coach just said get the ball and make the right play or find your teammates or get downhill and get a layup or get to the free-throw line.”
Knecht got to the basket but also hit big shots over top the Bulldogs’ defense, accounting for five of Tennessee’s nine triples.
The Northern Colorado transfer showing out on the road is nothing new. In four true road games this season, Knecht has totaled 24 points (Wisconsin), 37 points (North Carolina), 28 points (Mississippi State) and now 36 points at Georgia. That’s 31.3 points per road game on 62% shooting from the field and 48% shooting from three-point range.
Has Barnes ever coached a player that’s excelled on the road the game Knecht has so far this season?
“Well, I did have Kevin Durant,” Barnes said with a laugh. “So I saw it a bunch.”
More From RTI: Everything Rick Barnes Said After Tennessee Defeated Georgia
Durant is Knecht’s favorite player. They have similar games as three-level scoring wings. But what about the two makes them so effective on the road.
“Mindset,” Barnes said. “It’s a mindset where, you know, short memory. Not afraid of the moment, willing to go make the big play and if they don’t, they’ve got a great ability to bounce back.”
The 6-foot-6 wing’s journey to Knoxville is a wild one. For a Thornton, Colorado native who played two years at a junior college and two years in the Big Sky before transferring to Tennessee to hit the ground running playing on the road the way he has is pretty remarkable.
“You just always, as a kid to want to grow up and playing those type of environments,” Knecht said.
One Response
Let’s not overlook our lockdown defense in the final minutes. Smothered ’em!